1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electronic data processing. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relates to methods, computer program products and systems for verifying certain legal requirements on electronic documents.
2. Background of the Invention
Data processing is commonly used, e.g., in the fields administration and management of enterprises, cost accounting, cost allocation, and bookkeeping. In various countries, recommendations and legal regulations have been released for the exchange of electronic documents in order to make the electronic exchange of documents and the electronic document itself suitable for being acknowledged as “documents” in the legal sense, in the same way as traditional paper documents are. Examples for such recommendations are:                European Union (EU) VAT Guidelines under <http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEX numdoc&lg=de& numdoc=32001L0115&model=guichett>,        CEN-Report for eInvoicing (Oct. 2003) under <http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/businessdomains/businessdom ains/informationsocietystandardizationsystem/ebusiness+and+ecommerce/einvoicing+focus+group/index.asp>, and        Updates for VAT Regulations in the EU (27Oct. 2003) under <http://europa.eu.mt/comm/taxation customs/publications/info doc/info d oc.htm#VAT>.        
In Germany, electronic documents, particularly electronic invoices, are acknowledged as documents in a legal sense provided that the electronic document (invoices) is digitally signed, that the receiver of the document verifies the signature, and that the receiver archives the document. Further, the signature has to comply with the German signature law. This means that the signature has to be a qualified signature. Further requirements on electronic documents, particularly invoices, are based on the principles of orderly bookkeeping. Prerequisites for an acknowledged archiving in a legal sense comprise that the electronic document to be archived has a qualified signature in case of electronic invoices, that the electronic document is stored on an unchangeable storage medium, that converted and unconverted data are archived with respect to an index comprising a link to a converting mechanism if applicable, and that the archiving procedure is recorded.
Software applications and systems which provide a solution to part of the regulations pointed out above are known from the state of the art. For instance, Seeburger AG, D-75015 Bretten/Baden (www.seeburger.de) provides a software application for sending and receiving electronic invoices. The sending module on a sender's computer system allows for creating a digital signature for a document, creating an envelope comprising the document and the encrypted signature, and sending the envelope to a receiver module on a receiver's computer system. The term “signed document” is hereinafter alternatively used for the envelope. Creating a digital signature comprises calculating a hash value which is unique for the document to be sent. The hash value is then encrypted by a private key and optionally converted into an ASCII code string (BASE64 encoding). Suitable signature processes are, for instance, S/MIME or SECURE EDIFACT/AUTACK message according to DIN/ISO 16560-15 or -16.
The receiver module on a receiver's computer system allows for receiving the electronic document via a communication interface, decrypting the signature by means of a public key of the sender, validating the signature, archiving the document, the signature, the public key of the sender, the result of a converting process, if applicable, and a report of these various processes, and passing the document to a business software system of the receiver. Validating the signature may, for example, be implemented by a method comprising calculating a hash value of the document by means of the same process that has been applied on the sender side and comparing that calculated hash value with the hash value obtained by decrypting the signature received with the document using the public key of the signer. Identity of both values reveals the originality and integrity of the document.
Another example of how to process signed electronic documents is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,945. This document describes a method for automatically processing an electronic document having a digital signature, wherein the processing comprises sending the document from a sender to a receiver and verifying the signature.
However, as a drawback, the above applications do not allow the receiver to check whether the person who signed the document is authorized to sign the document and to check whether the person, if authorized, corresponds to the issuer of the document. For example, in a business to business scenario, where the sender is authenticated automatically, the signature is verified, the signer is authorized as a business partner, and the document is accounted, the important check is missing as to whether the signer is authorized to sign for the business partner named in the document. These steps have still to be performed manually, requiring a considerable amount of time and costs.
In the field of electronic invoicing, customers are doing electronic invoicing today, but additionally they have to send paper invoices because of legal requirements. These invoices or in some cases collective invoices have to be matched manually with the electronic invoices. This is why some customers might not do electronic invoicing at all.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for methods, software applications and/or data processing systems for providing a more efficient solution of at least a part of the problems described above. Particularly, it is desirable to provide a software application having a mechanism processing electronic documents more efficiently.
The above description is based on the knowledge of the present inventors and not necessarily that known in the art.